I always say just stay positive. If you ever get down on yourself, try to find something that takes away that negative. Always find that positive area.

When I first got into country, I was trying to do the traditional country thing, and I still have a heart for traditional country. But the songs I was writing just weren't falling into that category.

I try to stay away from all negativity.

It's been neat to find out different writing strategies. I've been in the room with so many different writers. Sometimes, you write with tracks, and other times, with acoustic guitars. That's been really a cool thing, because it brings out different lyrics with you.

I kept my circle small. I had my friends that I knew wouldn't do anything to hurt me, and I would also stand up for them, and those are still my friends today.

I wanted to call it 'Experiment' because it's all kinds of different sounds. We have a bunch of instruments on there that are basically going extinct, like the fiddle, the steel guitar, the slide.

After graduating from high school, even though I was working, I didn't have enough money to pay rent, so I stayed with my Nana.

In country radio, everybody has such a connection and a bond. So you've got to meet them.

On my posts, I would tell people, 'If you like this, give it a share.' If you go online and look at my videos, you might see where I have 80,000 likes, but 525,000 shares. That's where you gain more people as followers coming in. It took me a second to learn it all, but now that I have, it's been a blessing and a curse.

The tattoo that means the most to me would probably be my Chinese symbol on my neck. It means love - I got it on Mother's Day.

Growing up, I never had a steady home.

I am not interested in changing who I am to fit someone else's idea of what a category should be or look like.

It kind of feels cool to be the outsider.

I love to sing and never thought I'd be able to do it, and it happened for me.

I feel like everybody that saw my videos was like, 'Oh this dude's about to rap.' They just played my videos, and I feel like I shocked a lot of people.

I feel like everybody has a dream, so why not try and help everybody to accomplish that dream.

I love everybody.

I know that sounds weird, but I always compete with myself. If I do something, I always look at a chart and say I can do better the next week.

A lot of people say I inspire them or I've helped them - kids who have been bullied in school or parents coming up to me because their kids have been bullied or anything that they've went through. It really touches me.

I have the best and most loyal fans in the world, and they are used to connecting with me since the very beginning.

The world is so crazy.

My nana is a real life mentor, and so is Brad Paisley and a few other idols in country music.

I've learned that I don't take 'no' as an answer. I'm very competitive; I'm very prideful.

I started going on YouTube and studying everybody who was super popular, from Taylor Swift to Beyonce to Michael Jackson to Chris Brown, just everybody... That's what helped me find my voice and helped me find how I write songs, just doing covers.

In the first game I ever played in high school, I had a pick-six for a touchdown. That was a fun memory.

Some people say I'm not country, but they don't really know how I grew up.

I don't do anything bad.

My mom was so good at hiding the bad in life that I thought all of life was good.

It feels awesome to be a Guinness World Records title holder and to be the first artist to achieve this with Billboard. I remember being in elementary and middle school and looking at the books for all of the records, and I can't believe my name gets to be in there now.

I just feel like I have a chance to be a role model now.

We lived in eight or nine different houses and six or seven different apartments growing up.